(A response to a question by Samuel Sogol, the Jerusalem representative of the Civic Times newspaper published in the USA, about the potential effect of the recent election in Turkey on relations with Israel)

Turkey is a warm, loving place. So is the government. There is nothing fanatical or destructive about it. They are warm and rational and love everyone and take compassion and love as their guiding principles. Therefore, nothing harmful to Israel will happen in Turkey. Nothing will happen against any country in the region. Not just Israel. Turkey is not an aggressive country. Its government is not aggressive. Turkey is humane, and there will be no problem. The government is also humane. So there will be no problem. If any problem arises, let them come to me. But if I say it won’t, then it won’t.

(About women in Syria seeking help from Muslims)

A longing for Hazrat Mahdi (as). Begging Allah for Hazrat Mahdi (as) to appear. Begging Allah for the way of the Mahdi. Muslims cannot get anywhere if they are leaderless, aimless and uncontrolled. For example, if 10 people gather in the street and demand that these women be left alone, they will be beaten black and blue. Instead of asking for help from Muslims, it would be better for them to beg our Lord to hasten the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). A leaderless movement will be defeated. You cannot have Islamic Union without Hazrat Mahdi (as). There can be no happiness without Hazrat Mahdi (as). They must pray for Hazrat Mahdi (as) to appear at once. Otherwise, disasters will just keep on happening. But Hazrat Mahdi (as) will put an end to it. That will be an end of the matter.

“What reason could you have for not fighting in the Way of Allah – for those men, women and children who are oppressed and say, ‘Our Lord, take us out of this city whose inhabitants are wrongdoers! Give us a protector from You! Give us a helper from You!’?” (Surat an-Nisa, 75)

This is the longing for the way of the Mahdi. Almighty Allah is telling us that Muslims have to be united. Muslims’ longing will come about in the form of this verse, insha’Allah.

There is the Mahdi revealed by Allah and Rasulullah (saas). You cannot have an American Mahdi and a British Mahdi or anything. There is only Muhammed the Mahdi (as) described by our Prophet (saas) in the hadiths, descended from the Prophet (saas), from the Ahl al-Bayt, a descendant of Hazrat Fadima. His appearance is revealed and when he will come. His characteristics have been revealed, what he will do and where he will come from. He will of course be a perfect person. But there have always been false mahdis, and there still are. There is no point in getting upset about that. It is unimportant. False mahdis will always be defeated. But the true Mahdi (as) will be victorious. That is his destiny, and the victorious Mahdi is the true Mahdi.

Muslims must be full of love for one another. They must protect and watch over one another. They can invite the followers of the Nur to their discussions at home, and people from all other communities. They must form alliances around what they have in common and talk together. They can talk of the fine moral values of our Prophet (saas) for instance. That is something all communities can agree on. But they must not discuss political opinions. Talking at home is fine, but without political discussions. What we do from time to time is giving dinners and conversing in yacht, and they are very good. Our brothers from the MHP came to the last dinner we gave, and brothers from the AKP and the Felicity Party. There were people from all parties. Members of Parliament and professors. But we did not discuss politics. We talked about Turkish-Islamic Union, Islamic Union, brotherhood and love. That is how it should be. Tensions rise when people talk about politics. Politics must be avoided there. You cannot talk about politics in discussions among friends.

The Qur’an teaches us the basis of love. The Qur’an does not tell us to love alone. Love requires patience, self-sacrifice, generosity, care and protectiveness. A selfish person cannot love. A selfish person will always lose love. Impatient people will always lose love. People who are not forgiving always lose love. Love cannot grow out of nowhere. It needs work, to be tended and cared for. Love must be protected in the same way you tend a flower. Love cannot grow spontaneously. One cannot love eyes or eyebrows. These can become ill or grow old and vanish. Wealth can also vanish, but faith and moral values, the virtues arising from faith, are permanent. This has a profound effect on the soul. And so we love people. Otherwise, one cannot love a person who is just flesh and blood. Lift off a person’s skin, just a millimeter thick, and they are all bloody. Underneath it is all blood red. Flesh and fat and that is all. So nothing remains to love about someone.

Almighty Allah has placed the longing for salvation in our hearts. This has grown even stronger in the End Times. The signs of this will begin to be seen quite clearly, particularly as of this month. Marvels will follow one after the other every month and year, insha’Allah. At the end they will say that I had told them.